Because Barnes’s plan focused on finding ways to burn calories with everyday tasks, Givens was in for a shock when Sulaver brought her into the gym.

“My background is in sports performance, so it’s like how professional athletes train, which is no joke,” the founder of Bandana Training tells PEOPLE. “It was a big wake up call and a dramatic shift in terms of what La’Tasha had been doing.”

“What I love is we get to highlight the importance of exercise in weight loss,” he says, “and then we also get to talk about the relationship between food and exercise and how that ultimately is the one-two punch to get you some legitimate results.”

With his plan, Sulaver dictates when Givens has her meals. He recommends going into a workout “a little hungry” and fueling up right after exercise, when her body is “more primed to utilize that energy.”

“Every client is different, so when you step in as a nutrition couch, part of it is assessing the situation, ” he says. “Immediately, out of the gate, I saw that La’Tasha needs that structure in her life and needed way more guidelines – so that’s exactly what we did.”